Lighter Chocolate Tart

I sit here and type this rather blearily since I have just woken up from a nap. I seem to have developed a dependence on them lately (wait, haven't I said this before ?) maybe the late night blog-reading using my ipad in the dark of my room has something to do with it.. But it's almost impossible for me to get through a day without flopping down on here couch during the afternoon and taking a good, long snooze. Too long, sometimes, which inevitably ends in me being unable to get any shut eye at my usual 10.30pm. Hence the, um, blog-reading. 

My house is still deprived of water as of now (10.05pm on a Sunday night - uh oh, I should really be in bed by now) and it's making my fellow house habitants act rather weird. Maybe except my sister, who usually couldn't be bothered by much that happens, unless it happens to be her not finishing her homework. My dad has been annoying himself to bits by tinkering with everything that can be tinkered with and wondering why there still isn't any water coming out from the tap. He really isn't home much on weekdays since his work needs him to be at the office till late evenings at best, and since there's a constant supply of water over there, he isn't used to being waterless at all. Hence the annoyed noises emanating from the kitchen-bathroom as I type. My mom, well when she's not trying to calm my dad down, she's either cleaning anything that doesn't require water to be cleaned or watching Korean dramas on the laptop or television and consequently falling asleep about halfway through. 

Me, I'm just pissed that I can't bake as often as I like. And also because I seem to be a human heating element so I'm constantly feeling waaay too hot - oh and I drink a lot of water. Like, up to 4 liters a day, easily. I have to carry a water bottle so big, it can't fit into those dainty little handbags that my friends carry around, which means I either have to tote a bag so big I can fit my house into it, or use my bag pack with its myriad of rainbow colors and diamond studded teddy bear attached to the zipper. The sheer weight of that bottle makes my shoulders ache when combined with the crazy amount of books and tools I have to lug around to class when I went to university. When I go on outings, the people I am out with are constantly horrified at the sight of the monstrosity that carries my water supply, and the feeling is multiplied as they watch me down the entire contents of said monstrosity in about two hours. What ? I run and sweat a lot. Get over it.

We're just about coping with the lack of water, but not baking is driving me mad. Can you get withdrawal symptoms from this ? 

Since I am resorting to posting about things I made awhile ago, let me talk about this chocolate tart that I mentioned about in my previous post. I did say that I made it because I wanted to lighten up a little, and while usually the words 'light' and 'dessert' don't usually go in the same sentence, this is one light dessert that you should try. It doesn't taste light at all, unless we're talking about the texture. Then it's light. Ethereally so, I might add, since it reminds me of a chocolate mousse in all its decadently fattening glory, without the actual fat. There are no weird ingredients in this tart either, not that I have anything against putting avocado in my brownies. Now that is good. 

To be honest, when I made this, I was craving for a chocolate ganache tart, one with a filling so thick and dense that a few bites in will have you practically begging for a glass of milk. I had tried one when I went out for a soirée with a friend a few weeks ago and I couldn't stop thinking about it - ugh. But then I gave this tart a chance and while it wasn't the chocolatey slap in the face I was looking for, this managed to scratch that chocolate itch with its suave, melt-in-your-mouth smoothness. You know how some people say "you can eat a slice or two without feeling weighed down"? Well, that rings true with this tart, you won't be weighed down either figuratively, literally or emotionally. I hope I got the words right.

Lighter Chocolate Tart

For the crust:

165g cookie crumbs (you can use Oreos, I used digestives)

70g butter, melted

For the filling:

100g dark chocolate, chopped

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

2 medium egg whites

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

40g thick yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the butter with the cookie crumbs - it'll look like wet sand. Press the crumb mixture onto the base and up the sides of a 7" springform pan or deep, removable bottom tart tin. Make sure to really less down hard to get it compact, you wouldn't want it to fall apart on you later.

2. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely (I put it in the freezer because I'm impatient like that).

3. To make the filling, put the chocolate in a big bowl with the cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of boiling water. Melt this over a double boiler, but don't overheat ! I usually just stir it until the chocolate has mostly melted then take it off the heat to let the chocolate melt completely. Cool the mixture slightly.

4. Stir the vanilla, milk and yogurt into the chocolate mixture until smooth. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the brown sugar then whip until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold a dollop of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it a little, then gently fold in the remaining whites until no streaks of white remain. Pour this into the baked crust then refrigerate for at least 3 hours - overnight is best - until set.

5. Open the sides of the springform pan or place the tart tin on a can, then gently press the sides of the tin down, leaving the tart and the base of the tin on the can. Sift over a little cocoa powder before slicing and serving, if you like.